GARRIOCH: It's a miracle, Jean-Gabriel Pageau ready to return Sunday

Ottawa Senator J.G. Pageau competed in the skills competition on Thursday. On Sunday, he'll make his season debut — way ahead of schedule after being injured in training camp.Errol McGihon / Postmedia

The hard work, the dedication, and the long and sometimes lonely hours in the last four months are about to pay dividends for Jean-Gabriel Pageau and the Ottawa Senators.

As Ottawa prepared for back-to-back matinée games against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday and the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday at the Canadian Tire Centre, the Senators were buoyed by the fact they’ll be getting one of their top players back to start the second half.

While Pageau was supposed to be out four to six months when he tore his Achilles tendon on Day 1 of training camp in September, general manager Pierre Dorion and coach Guy Boucher confirmed Friday the feisty centre will suit up against the Hurricanes.

Pageau will be welcomed back with open arms.

“It’s terrific news,” Boucher said Friday. “This is like a miracle, really. That’s not just ahead of time, it’s way ahead of time. There’s clearance there so we’re more than happy.”

Boucher was quick to praise the hard work done by Pageau to get back this fast, but also heaped kudos on the club’s doctors, the trainers and the conditioning staff because everybody played a big role in making sure he played this season.

When the injury was first happened, the prognosis wasn’t good and the Achilles isn’t an easy surgery to recover from. Pageau has been at the rink pretty much every day since he had the procedure and has been pushing to get into the lineup for the last couple of weeks.

“How could you not (be excited)? I’ve been waiting for that first game,” said Pageau. “I thought it was going to be the first (game) of the season, but fortunately it’s going to be halfway through.

“I’m excited. I’m so grateful to our medical staff, surgeons, doctors, strength coach and all the support I got back from my family and friends. All the messages I got from fans and all the motivation I got from them helped me to go through that process.

“That made it easier for me. It’s because of them I’m coming back Sunday.”

Make no mistake, being injured hasn’t been a vacation for Pageau by any stretch of the imagination. Since the surgery, he was at the rink most days at 8 a.m., started his daily routine with treatment and then went for a workout in the gym.

Since getting clearance to start skating in November, that’s been added to the daily work routine. He did it because he wanted to get back, but he noted Friday it wasn’t always easy to put in those hours because being injured can be difficult mentally.

“Through all four months, I never felt any setbacks and I always felt like every day was improving,” Pageau said. “That was a big thing. You don’t like to do one week where it’s going well and then another week where it’s going bad.

“I felt like it was really good every week. Like I said, without our staff I don’t think any of that would have happened or my mind would have been at the same place.”

Pageau said the first week was tough and then it became routine.

“It was the hardest mentally just to know that I wasn’t the starting the season with the team,” he added. “I was excited, I had a good tournament at the world championships (in May) and I was coming in confident.

“My role was getting bigger, my responsibilities were getting bigger and I was ready to take on that role. I’ve got to say the first week was hard, but after that the support from the teammates, the family and the fans helped me to keep coming in every morning.

“I didn’t want to come in every morning; sometimes you wake up in the morning and you’re sick of it, but having someone at home pushing you and your teammates around and your friends pushing you, made it way easier.”

Having Pageau back will give Boucher options on what to do with the lines. He can contribute offensively, play against other team’s top lines and kill penalties. The Senators rely on a guy like Pageau a lot and he’s an important piece in a rebuilding year.

“He’s a big part of this team and we’ve missed him all year. He’ll help us in all facets of the game,” said centre Matt Duchene.

Pageau skated Friday with Zack Smith on the left and Mikkel Boedker on the right. That’s where Pageau might start Sunday.

“I was trying to play for the past 10 games,” Pageau said with a smile. “We’ve been pretty honest on both sides since the start and I’m feeling 100 per cent today as we’re talking.

“Sunday will be a good day for me to come back. It’s a home game, in front of our fans and I can’t wait to play.”

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